Mid-Major Top 25 For January 24: Bye-Bye To Gonzaga, Hello To Saint Mary's

These weekly rankings will rank which mid-majors are the best in the nation, factoring in record, RPI, and whom the teams have beaten and lost to. There are different opinions on which teams qualify as mid-majors. I say that mid-majors are teams not in the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-10, Mountain West, Conference USA, or Atlantic 10. Teams from any other conference constitute as mid-majors.

Rank. Team (Previous Rank)

1. St. Mary's Gaels (3)

Record: 17-3, 5-0 WCC

RPI: 40

St. Mary's winning streak ended with a loss at Vanderbilt. However, the Gaels still control the WCC at 5-0.

Key Wins: St. John's (Home)

Key Losses: None

2. Missouri State Bears (4)

Record: 16-4, 8-1 MVC

RPI: 35

Missouri State lost a heartbreaker at Indiana State on a buzzer beater layup for its first loss in conference play. The Bears rebounded with a win of their own in the final seconds against Creighton. With an Indiana State loss, the Bears moved back into first place in the MVC.

Wichita State lost at home in conference play for the second time this season, losing to Northern Iowa by a score of 77-74. The Shockers rebounded with a win over Indiana State in three overtimes to move into second place in the MVC.

Key Wins: Virginia (Neutral), Creighton (Road)

Key Losses: Northern Iowa (Home)

4. Utah State Aggies (6)

Record: 18-2, 7-0 WAC

RPI: 43

Utah State has not lost since it played Georgetown on December 4th. The Aggies have a two-game lead on Boise State in the WAC.

Key Wins: Denver (Road), Boise State (Road)

Key Losses: None

5. Old Dominion Monarchs (1)

Record: 14-5, 5-3 CAA

RPI: 33

Old Dominion is 2-2 in his last four games. The Monarchs currently stand in fourth place in the CAA and need to take advantage of their next three games, where they play UNC-Wilmington, Georgia State, and Towson.

Oakland swept its three-game road trip, but the Golden Grizzlies only won their last two games by an average of eight points—must have been scary after winning all their other league games by 20 points. The Golden Grizzlies hold a three-game lead in first place.

Key Wins: Tennessee (Road), South Dakota State (Road)

Key Losses: Wright State (Road), Valparaiso (Road)

15. Belmont Bruins (Not Ranked)

Record: 18-3, 10-0 A-Sun

RPI: 70

Belmont has dominated its Atlantic Sun opponents to this point, winning all but one of its 10 games by double digits. The Bruins three losses have come to Tennessee (twice, when the Volunteers were ranked) and to Vanderbilt. All of those games were on the road.

Key Wins: East Tennessee State (Road)

Key Losses: None

16. Princeton Tigers (17)

Record: 12-4

RPI: 60

Princeton came back from a vacation of nearly three weeks to dominate College of New Jersey. The Tigers will play their first game against a D-I opponent since Marist on December 5th in their Ivy League opener against Brown on Friday night.

Key Wins: Rutgers (Home)

Key Losses: Presbyterian (Neutral)

17. Harvard Crimson (20)

Record: 13-3, 2-0 Ivy

RPI: 50

Harvard has looked strong in conference play so far, defeating Dartmouth twice. The Crimson host Columbia on Friday night in their Ivy League game.

Key Wins: Colorado (Home), Boston College (Road)

Key Losses: George Mason (Road)

18. Valparaiso Crusaders (16)

Record: 15-6, 7-2 Horizon

RPI: 57

Valparaiso's winning streak ended with a loss to Green Bay. The Crusaders host Butler on Saturday, with the winner gaining control of first place.

Key Wins: Oakland (Road), Cleveland State (Home), Wright State (Road)

Key Losses: Ohio (Road), Toledo (Road), Green Bay (Home)

19. Hofstra Pride (22)

Record: 13-6, 7-1 CAA

RPI: 105

Hofstra enters a game against James Madison in a tie with Virginia Commonwealth for first place in the CAA. The Pride travel to play the Rams on Thursday.